A saddle-ride type vehicle such as an ATV is generally provided with an engine nearly at the center of a vehicle body frame, a fuel tank at the upper side of the engine, and also a seat for a rider at the rear part of the fuel tank. In addition, an air cleaner of the inlet system of the engine is provided at the lower side of the seat and the ambient air having passed through the air cleaner is inhaled into the engine through a throttle body. Further, in the case of a vehicle provided with a fuel pump at the front side of the engine, a fuel feed pipe, one end of which is connected to the fuel pump, is routed on the upper side of the engine and connected to a fuel intake in the throttle body.
Further, in recent years, saddle-ride type vehicles have been provided with a heat shield panel between an engine and a fuel tank on the upper side thereof so as to prevent the heat of the engine from transferring to the side of the fuel tank. For example, see JP-A No. 72640/2003.
However, in such a conventional saddle-ride type vehicle, since a heat shield panel is disposed between an engine and a fuel tank at the upper side thereof, it is difficult to secure a space for piping and other parts on the upper side of the engine. Thereby, the space for installing a fuel feed pipe disposed astraddle the upper part of the engine in the anteroposterior direction of the vehicle body is largely restricted and a great amount of labor is required for the layout around the engine.
In addition, in a conventional saddle-ride type vehicle, when a fuel feed pipe is routed around an engine, some sort of a measure has to be taken in order to avoid the high heat of the engine and this also makes the design of the vehicle difficult.
In view of the above problems, it would be desirable to provide a saddle-ride type vehicle that improves the degree of freedom in the design around an engine by making it possible to facilitate the layout of a fuel feed pipe that connects a fuel pump to a fuel intake at the front and rear of the engine under a situation where the fuel feed pipe is hardly affected by the heat of the engine.